HP plans printers with e-mail addresses

HP's latest printers are set to feature e-mail addresses and their own App Store-style marketplace.

HP is set to make printing from any Internet-connected device a breeze with an interesting - and yet strangely obvious - innovation: printers with e-mail addresses.

According to an article over on The New York Times, future HP printers are set to include their own e-mail addresses - allowing users to print simply by sending an e-mail message to their individual device.

It's a neat idea - and one which promises to bring printing to devices such as smartphones, PDAs, and slates like Apple's iPad long before official drivers and support for devices such as Bluetooth printers are included by the manufacturers. Crucially, it would give HP the first printers on the market which are compatible with the as-yet printer-less iPad - a major selling point for the firm.

While it's not known what platform the devices will be running on - although given HP's recent acquisition of Palm, webOS is a near-certainty - the inclusion of e-mail and thus Internet access will apparently be bolstered with a touch-screen control panel, although the company is remaining quiet on whether you'll be able to browse the 'net and find content to print out directly from the printer.

The main hint that webOS will be making an appearance is the reference to something the company is calling the ePrintCenter [sic] - an App Store-style online marketplace where selected partners can offer add-on software for HP's Internet-connected printers.

It is thought that the first models will hit the market by the end of the month, ranging from $99 for the base model to $400 for the more office-friendly versions. UK launch dates and pricing aren't yet available.

Do you think the idea of connecting your printer to the Internet and giving it an e-mail address is an excellent way to bring easy printing to devices like the iPad, or are you terrified at the thought that spammers could find the address and you'll get hard-copy v1gr4 ads? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

Originally Posted by siconeMy first thought was whether you get to choose what to print or if it does so automatically. If it prints automatically, I dread to imagine what you'd come home to find waiting for you!

I expect it would only print automatically from address you tell it to. Otherwise it would run out of ink in less than a day printing the usual herbal remedies/viagra/enlargement spam.

Originally Posted by siconeMy first thought was whether you get to choose what to print or if it does so automatically. If it prints automatically, I dread to imagine what you'd come home to find waiting for you!

Yes, it would be a nuisance if the spambots find your printers e-mail address

Originally Posted by siconeMy first thought was whether you get to choose what to print or if it does so automatically. If it prints automatically, I dread to imagine what you'd come home to find waiting for you!

I expect it would only print automatically from address you tell it to. Otherwise it would run out of ink in less than a day printing the usual herbal remedies/viagra/enlargement spam.

I just set a rule in outlook and was suprised to see a print rule,
If subject contains word "printer" then print the email.
Worked perfectly so technically we can already get this capability without having an internet connected printer(though it would have to be connected to an internet connected laptop or PC with outlook running)
Not sure how it would handle attachments but I really should be gettign on with my work so i cant test

welll.... here's a lawsuit just waiting to happen .. I can see it now.. some numbskull parent will come home and find pr0n that was auto-printed from random email spam on their unsecured printer and flip out that their children were 'exposed' and sue HP :-[ .........otherwise this is a cool idea :)

Except you guys underestimate the power of boredom and malice on the internet. There's a good chance that every printer will share a default password, or have a password that can be derived from the e-mail address. This is just like the canon portraits which you can e-mail to. It's a great idea, though it's more than open to abuse.

Originally Posted by DriftCarlat the end of the day, its a more modern version of the fax machine :p
fax number = email address
there were no passwords or special codes on that when you wanted to send a fax to someone.

And you also got fax spam. Though this was back before people had a real big business model for spamming.
Wanted to DOS/DOI someone? Start faxing them sheets of black construction paper.

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